Cabin Crafted

Author: Cabincrafted1

  • Pandemic Effects

    Pandemic Effects

    It has been over a year and though you can find toilet paper in the grocery again, it took forever to get the garden seeds that I ordered and didn’t buy locally because of the desired varieties.

    A year ago today, my post on social media was about having been totally sequestered for a month and making our first foray into town for supplies from the Natural Food Store before they began doing curbside pick up, and getting drive thru lunch. I read fear in that post as it also contained information about folks knowingly going to work or about their routines after testing positive. We are now fully vaccinated and though I will go in the Natural Food Store, Grocer, or feed store, I make my visits quick and masked and still note those that refuse to wear a mask or wear it incorrectly.

    I have gardened most of my adult life to some degree or another, having the largest most productive one here on the farm that provides most of our green vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, fruit for jams, garlic, onions, and cucumbers for pickles. What I don’t grow, I purchase from the local organic farmer’s at the Farmer’s Market, but so many people who never gardened before, or raised chickens before, are doing so now. This has been a boon and a headache for those businesses that sell related product, thus the seed delays and unavailability. Yesterday, I went to the organic feed and garden supply store to get floating row cover as they are the only one in the area that carries it, and got their last 9 feet. Barely enough to cover the part of the bed that holds my brassicas. They also carry long, thin, flexible fiberglass poles for making the supporting hoops and as the ones I bought many years ago had deteriorated to the point that gloves were necessary to prevent fiberglass splinters, I purchased 6 new ones. If we have another frost, I will use them to create the hoop house or igloo shaped house over the 4 x 4 beds to cover with plastic or an old sheet.

    I still have gallon jars of staple dry foods that we filled prior to lock down last year and have kept them filled in case it happens again. Though I let them get empty or nearly so before refilling now, I was buying those items whenever they were available for the first half of last year.

    So far, chicken and chick feed have been available, and necessary until the hens and chicks can all be free ranging again and feed used as a supplement. Chicks at Rural King and Tractor Supply were selling out within 24 hours of arrival, where three years ago, I bought some that were already beginning to feather, they had been in the store for more than a week.

    The social isolation has made so many people wary of any interaction. It is pleasant when you can have a passing acknowledgement or a wave as smiles are hidden.

    As a hearing impaired adult, the masks have made conversations with clerks difficult and I often have to ask them to repeat or speak up. I never realized how much conversation context I obtained from reading lips and facial expression. I am due for a hearing aid check up, a hearing test, and I suspect a second hearing aid.

    As family members get vaccinated, we look forward to seeing them again. Having daughter and her children nearby has been a bonus as we visited on porches, masked until vaccines were in place, and can now have dinner together or hike together unmasked.

    Hopefully, the lessons learned through this will help if and when another virus emerges or this one continues to mutate into variants with unknown effects. If the conspiracy theorist and vaccine deniers will just stop their nonsence and getting a higher percentage of the population vaccinated, life might resume a new normal.

  • More spring

    I do love this time of year with the trees blooming, tiny leaves emerging, the drab color of the winter mountains changing. The Peach and Asian Pear held enough blooms during the two freezing days and nights that they are full of blossoms, so there will be fruit.

    The Gold Finches are turning their bright summer color.

    Last evening, I went over to collect eggs and one of the hens who refuses the nesting boxes in the Palace was sitting in the corner where several of them have been laying. I must have gone over just as she settled in to lay her egg, so I waited outside until she was done. It was quite a bit longer than I expected and when she was finished, she squawked past me and out into the yard.

    I foolishly thought that nearly two weeks was long enough for them to return to the Palace at close up time, so I turned them loose into the orchard. At first they pecked and scratched around the base of the Palace, then suddenly almost as a unit ran flapping their wings up the field to the area of the pen and coop. They seemed quite distraught that they couldn’t get in the pen, thus into the coop. With some effort, I herded 4 of them back and shut the door. The other four are the more skittish ones that won’t come near me even if I have treats, so I had to rig a trap with a length of old fence and catch them one at a time, carry them back to the Palace and shut them in. Today, they will have to be content with the temporary pen I built in front of the Palace and it may be a week or two more before I try again. I really want them returning to that coop before I begin letting the littles into the other pen.

    I mentioned that the littles will eat out of my hand. Still not all of them, but if a couple come over, more push in to see what is going on.

    I realized that the closed up coop got too hot yesterday when the temperature rose to near 80 and two of the chicks seemed stressed. I opened the windows to let some air in and closed it back up at nightfall. This morning, though it is going to be somewhat cooler as we return to more seasonal temperatures, I opened windows on both sides. Late this afternoon, it is supposed to begin to rain for a few days, so I will close them again.

    For the next few days, we will have to try to work our daily walks in between thunderstorms. It is important to keep moving and try to get my summer stamina back. Most winter’s I walk the hills around the farm to stay in shape, but this winter, I was a slacker and I’m paying for it now.

    As soon as the weather stabilizes to warmer days, milder nights, and dry weather, I need to stain the south and east sides of the garage that are sadly in need. If you ever want to build a house, don’t build a log home. Though I love it dearly, the frequency it needs to be stained is a pian and it is expensive to hire the job out. Son 1 has done a good job of staying on top of it, but those two sides of the garage didn’t get done last time, COVID and a dissertation have kept him away.

  • It is springing

    We have had a string of May like weather this week. Time to really think spring. The peas are up a couple inches and there were blank spots where a seed didn’t germinate or a hungry critter ate it, so the blanks were filled in and the seedlings watered in. Wanting to hurry this process along to have veggies from the garden, I preordered more lettuce and brassica starts from one of the vendors at the Farmer’s Market to pick up on Saturday and they will be tucked in to the bed that has the greens started in it. Soon it will be time to trellis the pea shoots and figure out how to thwart the cabbage moths from laying their eggs on my brassicas. I don’t want kale and cabbage full of little green larvae that eat the leaves faster than I can pick them off for the chickens.

    The first batch of tomato seedlings are spending every day on the back deck and some nights too. If it is going to get cooler than 45 f I bring them in. The second batch are about ready to pot into 4″ grow pots to join them. The Thai basil seed is growing in the hydroponic starter, but the cilantro still shows no sprouts. They either take forever to sprout or the seed was no good, but you would expect at least one to germinate. The Thyme in the hydroponic herb garden was getting out of hand, so it and the mint have been moved outdoors. The parsley, Thai basil, Genovese basil are thriving in the herb garden and more dill and basil have been started. I have an empty cell from moving the Thyme, so I need to decide what to start there. When I transplant the tomatoes from the second hydroponic unit, there will be more empty cells to fill. Maybe with spring and summer coming on to provide herbs and vegetables outdoors, the two hydroponic gardens will be shut down, cleaned, and replanted when it gets too hot outdoors for the greens. I have ordered new herb pods to start for next winter.

    Several years ago, I traded some plants for some daffodils, but they were not planted in a good place and never did anything. I realized a few days ago that I had a small Nandina shrub that was being dwarfed by a Barberry tucked in the back corner of the breezeway set back, so yesterday I dug it out and moved it to the front of the house with the other Nandinas there and in doing so, dug up two clusters of tiny daffodil bulbs. This spring, I bought bulb starts from Kroger and planted daffodils in the east garage bed and the walled garden.

    They are to provide spring color before the Iris and later the Day lilies bloom, so I moved the two clusters of small bulbs to better locations and hope that I will begin to have nice bunches of Daffodils to cut in a couple of years.

    On the back deck steps are pots that contained flowers from last year. One pot had Pansies in it from two years ago that came back last year and self seeded in the pot. The small pot isn’t full, but it was exciting to find some flowers as I descended the stairs to fill bird feeders.

    The Hummingbird feeders were filled and hung yesterday. I haven’t seen any birds yet, but the tracker indicates they are being seen nearby, so maybe soon they will dart in and out to delight observers as they hover and feed and chase each other off.

    This morning, I saw the first Eastern Bluebirds of the season at the feeders. I hope they beat the tree swallows to at least one of the Bluebird houses in the garden. I have one more house, but no pole to attach it to.

    As I transplanted the Thyme in the walled garden, I realized that the herb area and another area nearer the deck need more soil, it has settled or blown down to lower areas. A few more bags of mulch are needed to to the last small section of path in the veggie garden, so I think one more run to the big box hardware store is needed.

    The chicks are thriving in the coop and seem less afraid of me when I’m not a giant looking down on them, but rather a benign being bringing treats to the thigh high coop. They have discovered the perches and realize they can see out the windows and see me coming when they are up on them. About half of them will eat seed from my hand. I’m hoping the others will get brave enough to do so as well. I don’t pick up and handle my birds any more than necessary, but it is nice to have them not fear me when I enter their midst or know that I am the giver of treats when they are out and I need them back in their pen.

  • Hiking with the kids

    Yesterday at dinner, daughter said she took today off to spend with her kiddos and they were looking for a hike. I suggested that they do Kelly’s Knob and I would go with them. I have hiked it twice with Son 1 and family, the first time a backpacking, the second time from the road to the Knob and back because my knees were so sore by the time we got there the first time, I couldn’t get out on the rocks at the Knob. I had forgotten that the 1000 foot elevation change happens almost entirely in the first .5- .75 miles, then the hike levels out along the ridge line with a couple of shorter ups and downs, but basically a gentle walk once to gain the elevation. The hike is a bit more than 5 miles round trip.

    It hasn’t greened up that high yet, so the trees are still bare, the only green being the moss and lichens. We heard no wildlife going in but had a Chickadee serenade us on our walk back out.

    It took Daughter and me to get granddaughter across the crevices to get out on that rock, but from there you can look through the gaps in the mountain toward Blacksburg and Christiansburg off in the distance. It was a bit hazy today to see much out at the distance.

    I have definitely gotten my workout today. We returned to the house and made lunch with ham sandwiches or salads then moved the chicks to their new abode. I still need to drag the 110 gallon tank out and clean the pine shavings out of it and into the compost pile, wash the tank out and store it away until it is needed again.

    I’m glad I can still hike with my kids and they are patient with me when it is steep and I get out of breath.

  • A Beautiful Day

    The past two days have been gorgeous. Yesterday I got most of the lawn mowed. This morning before hubby got up, the edging was done, then the rest of the mowing finished.

    In a day or two, the chicks are going to be moved to the coop. Today they are out in the 110 gallon water tank in the sun with netting over the top to keep them from getting out and to keep anything else from getting in. They were going through the food in the smaller feeders, so the big girl feeder was put in the tank for them to get used to it. They also got the big girl water dispenser. They are funny dust bathing in the wood chips in the sun.

    Yesterday when walking up to the mailbox, I spotted my first wild bee with full pollen sacs.

    I guess it is time to put the bee house out. And in a week it will be time to put the Hummingbird feeders.

    Easter meal prepared, enjoyed, and cleaned up with daughter and her kiddos. Egg hunt was a success. Puppies got attention. Chicks moved back to the shelter and safety of the garage. I’m full and want a nap.

  • We Survived

    The two cold days and frigid nights are in our past. Hopefully, the last of the season, but it is still 5 weeks to last frost date. The covered young plants all survived, though I need to made the fence tunnels for the two 4 foot square beds so I can drape plastic over them to make a mini hoop houses. The plastic shower curtain liners wouldn’t stay taut enough to not droop down on top of some of the seedlings. Yesterday I pulled them back tight and this morning they were droopy again.

    The chicks in the garage did fine, though they are so very crowded in the big water trough. I do want to power wash the inside of the coop before I put fresh straw in it to move them. Three are still smaller than the others, but all have feathers and I think they will be fine with the warmer nights upcoming.

    Saturdays are Farmer’s Market days and this was the first week the opening changed from 10 a.m. to 8 a.m. and I didn’t want to be there that early, so I feared it would be mobbed. It was so cold, it was mostly vendors out there, bundled up and standing out in the sun in front of or behind their stalls. The weeks goodies were purchased and we went down to Tractor Supply to get chick feed and some poultry fence so I could build a temporary pen for the big hens. They have been cooped in the Palace for a week, it is dark in there with no windows except some hardware cloth high on the south end and a hardware cloth door on the north end. Once home, a small 64 square foot pen was erected and they were allowed out into the grass to peck and scratch. If they return into the Palace on their own for the next few nights, I will remove the pen and give them free range time again.

    I don’t really want to have to set real fence posts and erect a wire fence to give them more room if they balk at using the Palace as their new home. I have the posts and the old fence wire available if I have to take that route.

    Tomorrow I will have daughter and her kiddos here for Easter dinner. I have hidden some eggs with trinkets and coins in them for an Easter Egg hunt, though I suspect grandson will find it childish as a young teen. Granddaughter will enjoy it. There are six different colors of eggs and I have assigned 3 colors to each, plus a small Chocolate bunny each, so it will be fair and no arguments (I hope). At the Farmer’s Market I bought Hot Cross buns for the bread for dinner to go with the ham, au gratin potatoes with local cheese, and a green salad or cooked vegetable. I wish the asparagus were up, but not yet. Daughter will bring deviled eggs and we will enjoy some time togther. I found out this week that both sons have had at least one vaccine, so maybe we will be able to see all of our family again soon.

  • It Wants To Be Spring . . .

    but it is struggling today, tonight, and until Saturday. The Forsythia and Daffodils are blooming. The grass has turned emerald green, the Asian Pear unfortunately is blooming as are the Blueberries and the Peach tree is just starting, so there may be no fruit from them. Last night it went down to 33f, today stays cold and windy and tonight it will drop to 20f, with tomorrow and tomorrow night nearly carbon copies.

    Since there are tiny plants in the garden, young peas, young onions, lettuce, kale, and spinach, they are protected. Last night wasn’t enough to cause damage, but tonight and tomorrow night will be.

    In the cold biting wind this morning, cheap plastic shower curtain liners that I use in rainy weather on my vending canopy were put to new use, protecting the tender growth in the garden. The sturdy little tomato plants won’t get outdoor time today or tomorrow.

    The chicks got their heat lamp lowered, though they will be moved to the coop as soon as it warms up again, they are so crowded in the big black water trough. I reconfigured their pen, putting a second layer of fence wire with smaller openings and making the pen larger while removing the narrow run. The newly enlarged pen, covered with plastic erosion fencing to keep the hawks from feasting on them once they are out and about. Yesterday the old fence wire that I used to make the temporary run to herd the hens to their new dwelling was rolled and put beside the garden until it could be moved for storage. This morning, I see the rolls blown by the wind overnight have been relocated to a field. When it warms up a few degrees or the wind dies down, I will go gather them back up and find a place to store them.

    The hens suprised me. I was sure egg production would be down due to the stress of moving and being locked up, but I have gotten 4 or 5 eggs every day since the move. They are making little ground nests in the straw, kicking any straw I put in the nesting boxes out and mostly ignoring the boxes, so it is like an Easter egg hunt every time I go to gather them, but they are laying.

    The dishwasher installer finally came on Monday, the tractor pick up was delayed with no notice as I sat here all day Tuesday awaiting them. When I called to find out when they were coming, I was told it was delayed until yesterday in the pouring rain and that I didn’t have to be here. I wish they had told me that in the first place, the day they were supposed to come was a beautiful day and our walk could have been midday instead of after dinner. I did get the blade off the tractor and moved out of their way before they got here, that thing is heavy, and though the tire was totally flat and losing the fluid fill, they drove it up on the truck and hauled it off for repair and servicing. I have no idea how long they are going to keep it, but there are no pressing needs for it right now.

    I finished 15 squares for my Breed Blanket Project by yesterday. Thirteen of them are shown here. The additional two are another like the one lower right and another of the white in the row above on the left. I don’t think I will do 15 each quarter, but I should end up with a decent sized wool throw from my year’s effort. The second April challenge doesn’t appeal to me as it would require me to spin 25 grams on my oldest spindle and 25 grams on my oldest Jenkins Turkish spindle, ply them together, and knit all 50 grams. My oldest spindle is the bottom whorl spindle I take to re enactments and I don’t like spinning on top and bottom whorl spindles since I discovered the Jenkins Turkish spindles. I may take a pass on that challenge and just work on the blanket challenge. All of the left overs from doing the squares are being knit into a much smaller log cabin pattern blanket that will become my table cover for events and craftshows. Each band of the log cabin will be labelled with the breed of wool that was spun. I am enjoying that challenge, spinning wools I have never used before or spinning some I did for the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em challenge only this time on spindles instead of the wheel. Between the two challenges, I have decided that my favorite wools to spin are not longwools and not the supersoft from the Merino line, but sturdier wools that mostly aren’t next to the skin soft.

    That basket is full of 25 to 100 gram samples left to be spun for the blankets. I better get busy. This month is one I have never spun before, North Ronaldsay from Scotland/Orkney Islands, fairly soft and another light gray. My second breed for the month is one I have spun on the wheel, Finn, my last dyed sample. The rest of the year will be natural white, gray, morrit, black, and tan wools.

  • Sit around and wait…

    then run like hell to get it all done. The long awaited dishwasher installation was scheduled for today with the “you will get a call when they leave Lowes” message from the installation scheduler. Well, he called at 9 a.m. to ask me if I might have used a different name on the order. Uh NO. It was finally established that the extra parts, ie hose, power cord, counter clips were with my dishwasher, but mislabelled and he would be here after he did another installation. This company installs from Bristol, TN to Roanoke, VA and services 16 Lowe’s stores. He finally showed up at 2 and got the dishwasher installed.

    After the very noisy GE we had that failed last winter, this one is so quiet I can’t even hear it running when I’m not standing beside it.

    We had errands in town that were missed over the weekend or couldn’t be done until today, so as soon as he left, we hauled into town to get everything accomplished before 4:30 when a buyer for our treadmill was due to pick it up. We were on our way home when he messaged and asked if he could come early and he beat us home, but the treadmill is on it’s way to a new home and the basement has more room for ping pong when grandkids come to visit.

    One of our errands was to pick up an alteration. I became enamoured with WoolX clothes a couple of years ago and wear them skin out year round. One of my favorite pieces is a heavy zip up hooded sweater/jacket, but it comes with a wimpy nylon coil zipper. The first one failed when the coil pulled off of the tape so I contacted WoolX and they sent me a replacement and the label to return the damaged one. Well the zipper on the second one failed in the same place, the same way, and again they replaced it and sent the return label. The third one had the same issue and they offered me a full refund as they were not in stock. I didn’t want to give it up, so they gave me a partial refund and let me keep the jacket, indicating they were going to have a discussion with their manufacturer about the zippers. I used part of the refund to pay a local tailor to put a real zipper in the hoodie and got it back today just in time for the not so springtime days coming up for a couple of midweek days and nights.

    Somehow in the activity, I managed to smack the back on my left hand on the corner of a counter top and bruised it, then gouged a chunk out of the back of my right hand on the door frame trying to help the large man and his tiny thin daughter load the treadmill into the back of the pick up truck.

    Yesterday on the way to Wilderness Road Regional Museum, I finished another square for my breed blanket. I have one more on the needles, to have finished by the end of the month, but here is a picture of the ones done this first quarter and a picture from Founder’s Day yesterday.

    The one on the needles is from the same yarn as the bottom right, but the colors are slightly different as the roving had variation in it. There is only one more dyed wool to go in, the rest are white, gray, tan, and black so the colored ones will be spread out through more of the finished blanket when done.

    Tomorrow is another sit and wait day as the John Deere Tractor dealer is coming to pick up our tractor to repair a rear tire that went flat and do an annual servicing. We have no idea when they will come.

  • Movin’ Day

    Last evening was moving day. The hens were herded and/or caught in a big fishing net or by hand and relocated to the Chicken Palace with food, water, scratch, 3 nesting boxes, and an old ladder that was cut in half and propped at angles against the roof beam to provide with with all their needs for the next week or so until they are comfortable in there and know it is “home” from now on. I expect today’s stress and the strange digs will reduce egg production this week, but that is the price I needed to pay to be able to clean up and repair the coop for the littles. The rain cooperated just long enough for me to get the move accomplished.

    It was also moving day or actually transplant day for the young tomatoes. I wanted to wait a bit longer, but the second batch needed to go in the hydroponic garden, so the first dozen were transplanted into plantable 4 inch pots, placed in a plastic container that was the perfect size and they will begin outdoor days and indoor nights until danger of frost has passed and they can go in the ground. Once they were good sized sprouts, I used another dozen of the plugs to start 4 more tomatoes because daughter wanted 6 and I generally plant 8 or 10. Since the starter tray for the plugs holds a dozen, I started some Thai basil and some Cilantro to also share with daughter. Those had sprouted or at least germinated and needed to be under the light and fan, so they are in a position to be ready to put in the ground about the time of the last frost and a short period of hardening off.

    Before putting the second set of starts in the 12 cell hydroponic garden, the water was dumped, the container cleaned out, and refilled with fresh water and plant food.

    I’m looking for another one of the resin half barrels that I have used for raspberries and often for flowers and herbs. I will transplant some of the larger herbs from the smaller hydroponic garden that Son 2’s family gave me for Christmas and start a new batch of the ones I use regularly to grow in the house. I do like clipping them and using them in salads and for cooking.

    I’m off shortly to my first event in a year. Founder’s Day at Wilderness Road Regional Museum, dressed in costume, set with wheel, spindles, wool, and some items to perhaps sell. It is outdoors and the rain chances during the 4 hours is 70% for two of the hours, zero for one, and 40% for the other. I will set up in the loom house or on a porch to demonstrate Revolutionary War period fiber preparation. My dark blue skirt will be paired with a dark blue mask which certainly wasn’t part of their garb, but will be part of mine today.

  • Saturday Projects

    Saturday’s are drive thru breakfast out and on to the Farmer’s Market. A couple of days ago, I reseeded lettuce, spinach, kale, and Lacinato kale in the garden. At the market this morning, I scored spinach and Lacinato kale starts and came home to add them to the mini head lettuce starts from a few weeks ago. They will provide greens before the seed is up and providing. I didn’t bother to water them in because the afternoon and tomorrow are rainy. Mid week, I will cover them at night for three nights because we have three nights of upper 20’s expected.

    Once a few dandelions coming up around cardboard in the paths were dug and the mulch respread, I set about making a “chicken run” from the end of the chicken’s enclosure to the Chicken Palace where the big girls will be herded this evening and locked in to acclimate to their new digs.

    That is the chicken palace behind the burn barrel which is making short work of all the scraps from the old boxes and the rotted barrel staves. I just kept adding wood until it was all gone from outside the garden. Whatever is left after I build the compost bins from the remaining boxes, will be burned another day. I sat out near it with a garden hose at the ready until it began to thunder and lightening and I moved to the inside of the garage where I could keep an eye on it. Once it was just a smoldering layer in the bottom, the rain began hard. I expect it is mostly out now, but the new plants got watered in.

    One of the display pieces, I have wanted for vending events is a decorative ladder. I have looked for one unsuccessfully, so yesterday, a trip to the big box hardware store and a purchase of two oak boards, two oak dowels, and a package of screws gave me the supplies I needed to make my own. It is put together, given one coat of poly stain and finish and ready to take with me tomorrow to the museum for Founder’s Day.

    It is the same height and rung spacing as my folded rack seen in the left of this photo below.

    Tomorrow, I will leave the piece that can attach to the table at home and use the rack and ladder to display items for sale. I expect it will be too warm to sell many knits, but maybe the yarn and woven bags might sell and I am going to hold an end of season sale. What I am taking is packed in the car and ready to go.

    The chicks were moved to the garage last week into the large RubberMaid water tank to give them more room. At 4 and 5 weeks old, they are no longer the cute little fuzzies that they were, they are gawky teenagers with feathers, long wings and a propensity to try to escape whenever the screens are moved off to add food, water, or clean shavings. I have raised the heat lamp well above them, but left the heat tables in. They may need it mid week with the colder nights, but they are only a couple of weeks from moving to the coop. Daughter is going to loan me her power washer and I am going to powerwash the inside of the coop, repair a few pieces of outside trim, and repaint or stain it before I move them over. The narrow run off of the pen is going to be removed and the pen enlarged to give them more running around space until they are large enough to free range. I will cover the top of the pen with bird net to keep the hawks from picking off the chicks to feed their own chicks. I lost three young birds a couple of years ago before the pen and run were covered.

    There are still 15 in there, but 3 or 4 are so much smaller than the others, I need them to get some size before I can turn them loose in the pen.

    After I move the adult birds this evening, I will work on the coop and fencing next week and get it all ready for the littles.